Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Thomas Augustus Jaggar, Jr
In 1906, already a much-published, respected, well-known geologist, writer and lecturer, he became head of MIT’s department of geology. Jaggar saw the need for full-time, on-site study of volcanoes. He left MIT, moved to Kilauea to start the observatory, and devoted the remainder of his life to a study of volcanoes.
When he came to the Islands, he joined the efforts of George Lycurgus (operator of the Volcano House) and newspaperman Lorrin Andrews Thurston who were working to have the Mauna Loa and Kilauea Volcanoes area made into a National Park. Jaggar retired in 1940 and continued his research at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa until his death on January 17, 1953.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Prostitution
Captain Cook, in his log of 1778, noted that native Hawaiian women would swim out to his ships; after Western contact occurred, the females continued to openly want sex. With no religious or social restrictions against prostitution, the natives had no hesitancy about profiting from the newcomers’ desires.
In December, 1827, drafted by Kaʻahumanu and scrutinized for Christian propriety by Hiram Bingham, a set of prohibitions were proscribed (murder, theft, adultery, prostitution, gambling, and the sale of alcoholic spirits.) Prostitution didn’t stop. Later, there was an unofficial system of regulated prostitution in the Islands.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Colonialism
Colonization (and the ‘Peopling of the Pacific’) began about 40,000 years ago with movement from Asia; by BC 1250, people were settling in the eastern Pacific. (Kirch) About 900-1000 AD, Polynesian explorers made their voyage across the doldrums and into the North Pacific to discover Hawai‘i.
The Polynesian Triangle is a geographical region of the Pacific Ocean with Hawaiʻi (1), New Zealand (Aotearoa) (2) and Rapa Nui (3) at its corners; at the center is Tahiti (5), with Samoa (4) to the west.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

West Maui
The region has experienced six major historical eras, from its days as an ancient Hawaiian Royal Center, capital and home of the Hawaiian Monarchy, home to Missionaries, Landing/Provisioning for Whalers, the Sugar and Pineapple Plantation era and now Tourism.
Probably there is no portion of the Valley Isle, around which gathers so much historic value as West Maui. It was the former capital and favorite residence of kings and chiefs. For many, it’s more simply stated ... Maui No Ka Oi (Maui is the best)

Friday, June 26, 2015

Footprints on the Land
Hawaiian Missions Houses Historic Site and Archives recently produced another Cemetery Pupu Theatre event at Oʻahu Cemetery - Footprints on the Land (directed by William Haʻo.) This production focuses on the scientists, observers and those who impacted the landscape in 19th- and early 20th-century Hawai‘i.
Standing at five different headstones, actors perform a monologue of the lives of the people buried at Oʻahu Cemetery: Annie Alexander (Portrayed by Alicia Rice;) Charles Sheldon Judd (Portrayed by Adam LeFabvre;) Dr. Joseph Rock (Portrayed by Zach Thomas Woods;) John Adams Kuakini Cummins (Portrayed by Moses Goods;) and Cherilla Lillian Lowrey (Portrayed by Karen Valasek.)

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Haleʻakala
Bernice Pauahi’s father, Paki, had completed the construction of a new residence on King Street (between Fort and Alakea.) (Bishop Street had not been built, yet.) This new home replaced Paki’s prior modest, thatched-roof home he called ʻAikupika (‘Egypt’) that had been on the same piece of property. (ʻAikupika is where Pauahi was born.)
The name Paki gave his new home was probably meant it to be Haleʻakala or the ‘Pink House.’ Liliʻuokalani and John Dominis were married at Haleʻakala; Duke Kahanamoku was later born there. It was later the Arlington Hotel; on January 16, 1893, the home served as the headquarters for the USS Boston's landing force at the time of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Public Access on Beaches and Shorelines
State law states that the right of access to Hawaii's shorelines includes the right of transit along the shorelines. However, there is a specific situation related to ownership of beach areas; it is a special circumstance in Waikiki where in 1928, the Territory of Hawaiʻi entered into a “Waikiki Beach Reclamation” agreement with several of the beachfront property owners.
The Territory built a beach from the existing high water mark; the new beach was “deemed to be natural accretion attached to the abutting property, and title thereto shall immediately vest in the owner or owners of the property abutting thereon”. In addition, eleven groins were built along Waikiki Beach with the intent of capturing sand.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Hawaiian Room
"(I)f you are really lucky ... If you are one of those of whom refreshing and enchanting things sometimes happen. You will have wandered into the Hawaiian Room at the Lexington ..." On June 23, 1937, the Hawaiian Room opened in the Hotel Lexington, the first major showroom for live Hawaiian entertainment in the US and the one that became the most renowned.
The Room itself was the first of its kind and featured a glamorous dining room with island decor, large dance floor and American orchestra, and a Hawaiian music and floor show that was unmatched in its professionalism, elegance and beauty. The venue became “the place to be” for celebrities in New York City.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Pohaku O Kauai
On every island there existed a prominent bluff pointing westward, bearing the name: “leap of the spirit” (leina-a-ka-uhane). The name marked the jumping-off place where the soul of the dead was believed to depart beyond the land of the living.
Kaʻena or Kaʻena Point (‘the heat’) is the westernmost tip of land on the island of Oʻahu. Two stories tell of Pohaku O Kauai, here. The first speaks of the demigod Maui; the second speaks of Hau-pu. Each takes us to Kaʻena Point on Oʻahu.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Elmer Ellsworth Conant
“At five-thirty o'clock in the morning of June 20, 1923, (EE Conant,) manager of a Molokai ranch, walked into the garage at his home in Kaunakakai, entered his automobile, and stepped on the starter. The engine failed to turn over. As he swung open the door to step out and investigate, a shattering roar shook the village.”
Some suggest the killing related to water, the day before he died, Conant had finished the 6-million gallon Kawela Intake water system, moving water to West Molokai, 20-miles away; others suggest it related to the suspension of open deer hunting on the ranch. Conant's death failed to develop anything but a mass of conflicting rumors, and the case was dropped. The matter remains unsolved.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Andover Theological Seminary
At the beginning of the 19th, the people of New England were taking a new interest in religion. Andover Theological Seminary was built on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover (founded during the American Revolution in 1778 by Samuel Phillips, Jr (the oldest incorporated boarding school in the US.)
Two notable graduates were part of the Pioneer Company of missionaries to Hawaiʻi, Hiram Bingham and Asa Thurston. In 1908, the Seminary moved to Cambridge; in 1931 it shared a campus with Newton Theological Institution in Newton, Massachusetts. In 1965, the two schools officially merged, becoming Andover Newton Theological School.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

1871 Trail & Alahaka Ramp
The canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawai`i, however extensive cross-country trail networks enabled gathering of food and water and harvesting of materials for shelter, clothing, medicine, religious observances and other necessities for survival.
In 1871, a coastal trail that originally extended from Napoʻopoʻo south to Hoʻokena was repaired, and renamed the 1871 Trail. The Alahaka Ramp, located near the southern end of the Keanaeʻe Cliffs, is a massive stone ramp that ascends the pali from Keokea into Kiʻilae and connects the 1871 trail to Kiʻilae Village.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Kilauea Masonic Lodge
Hawai‘i was first visited by Freemasons as early as the early-1790s; over time, other Freemasons (mariners, merchants and professionals) visited the Islands. However, it was a French mariner who introduced this British cultural export into Hawai‘i (Joseph Marie Le Tellier, Captain of the French whaling barque "Ajax".)
On February 4, 1897, the Grand Master of Masons in California, Thomas Flint, Jr., issued a dispensation to open and hold a Masonic Lodge to be called, “Kilauea Lodge.” “The Masonic Hall Association at its meeting Saturday last decided definitely to built a fine brick and stone building upon their lot recently purchased of the Territory at the corner of Waianuenue and Bridge streets.”

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Waiʻanapanapa
Popoalaea, fearing for her life, traveled by an underground passage to the caves and deep places where only the sunbeams play, and here the women thought to hide in safety.
In one of the caves they found refuge.... but the shadow of the kahili waved by the attendant betrayed their hiding place and they were killed. (A State Park was established at Waiʻanapanapa, with campground and trails.)

Monday, June 15, 2015

John Meirs Horner
He was born on a New Jersey farm June 15, 1821. As a pioneer in agriculture, he furnished fresh vegetables and grain to the gold-crazed miners and the people of the growing city of San Francisco, as early as 1849. He became known as “The Pioneer Farmer of California,” “California’s First Farmer.”
Then the Panic of 1857 caused him considerable loss, he sold his land holdings and moved to Maui (arriving on Christmas day 1879.) “Horner, a man of broad vision and accurate foresight, was quick to appreciate the possibilities of the sugar industry and was a big factor in its development.”

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Territorial Governors
“(T)he executive power of the government of the Territory of Hawaii shall be vested in a governor, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, and shall hold office for four years and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President.”
The Territory of Hawaiʻi was organized on June 14, 1900, remaining a territory for 59 years. Twelve people served as territorial governor, appointed by the President of the US.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Pauahi
She was born on December 19, 1831, the daughter of Abner Paki and Laura Konia; she was great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha. They Paki and Konia gave her the name Pauahi (‘the fire is out;’) it was the name of Konia’s half-sister. Pauahi was hanai (adopted) to her aunt, Kinaʻu (the eldest daughter of Kamehameha.)
Pauahi “married in her eighteenth year (May 4, 1850 - in the parlor of the Royal School,) She was betrothed to Prince Lot … but when Mr Charles R Bishop pressed his suit, my sister smiled on him, and they were married.” (Liliʻuokalani) Pauahi’s will formed and funded the Kamehameha Schools.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Water Crisis
Neglect of the islands’ forests would be “suicidal,” for “everything fails with the failure of our water supply”. “Not enough rain and not enough water in the streams are great evils”. Prior to 1820, all of Honolulu’s domestic drinking water was obtained from natural springs and the small river that runs through Nuʻuanu Valley.
The sugar industry, still concerned about water shortages due to forest decline, sought and succeeded in establishing the forest reserve system, which instituted partnerships between public and private landowners to protect forests. Impending crisis also led to the development of groundwater wells (today’s primary source of drinking water in the Islands.)

Thursday, June 11, 2015

La Ho‘o-mana‘o O Kamehameha I
“Day in Commemoration of Kamehameha I,” (La Ho‘o-mana‘o o Kamehameha I) was first celebrated in 1871, on December 11 (Kamehameha V’s birth date.) Because the weather is better in the summer, the decision was made to move the celebration six months earlier (i.e. June 11 – the date has no direct significance to Kamehameha I.)
The 1896 legislature declared it a national holiday. In 1939, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes under the Territorial Legislature of Hawai‘i created the King Kamehameha Celebration Commission - that law remains in effect, today. In 1978 the legislature renamed this holiday King Kamehameha I Day.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

The Hawaiian Club
One interesting issue raised by the Hawaiian Club relates to the Kamehameha Statue – an ‘error’ in how the King is dressed. If you look closely at the Kamehameha Statue, there is an error in the arrangement of the sash. It is impossible without two sashes: a long one from malo front over the shoulder and down to the ground, and a short, separate belt.
Traditionally, a sash is worn by first draping the sash over the left shoulder. Then the remaining length is wrapped around the waist and over the front flap of the sash to around the back, fed behind the part over the shoulder, and the remaining hangs down in the back (at knee length.) After that, you put the cape on over it all. On the statue, the sash is over the cape.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Territorial Normal and Training School
A normal school is a school created to train prospective teachers to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name. Most such schools are now called teachers' colleges.
In 1895, a special Normal class was started in the Honolulu High School. In 1931, the legislature merged the Territorial Normal School with the University (of Hawaiʻi,) creating the Teachers College ... in 1951, the Regents named the Teachers College Building Wist Hall.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Kalihi Air Crash
On June 8, in the Islands, the then greatest number of fatalities from a single fire occurred in Kalihi in 1944. On that fateful day, two Army medium B-25 bombers collided in midair and plunged into a congested residential area, setting fire to 11 or 12 dwellings.
Ten women and children perished in the burning buildings; all four crewmen died in the crash. “All the city’s fire fighting equipment was called out. The fires blocked traffic for nearly four hours.”

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Chief’s Canoe
Throughout the years of late-prehistory, AD 1400s - 1700s, and through much of the 1800s, the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi. Canoes were used for interisland and inter-village coastal travel. The canoe was used by the chiefs as a means of ostentation and display.
And for a chief eager to make a quick getaway regardless of wind conditions, his bodyguards could also be put to work as paddlers. No longer need he wait for a favorable wind, or beat upwind to a destination on long tacks. Paddling provided great freedom of mobility, the ability to move canoes in any direction despite calms or adverse winds.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Rainbow Plan
The US had a series of military plans in place to deal with an array of potential adversaries. With events starting in 1938, with German and Italian aggression in Europe and simultaneous Japanese expansion in the Far East, US war planners realized that the US faced the possibility of war on multiple fronts against a coalition of enemies.
To that end, the Joint Planning Board developed a new series of war plans, the ‘Rainbow’ plans - the term being a play on the respective ‘color’ plans that had been drawn up previously. Rainbow 5 imagined the rapid projection of American forces across the Atlantic to Africa or Europe, and include Hawaiʻi in the Pacific.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Kaʻahumanu and the Missionaries
Kaʻahumanu was born about the year 1768, near Hāna, Maui. Her siblings include Governor John Adams Kuakini of Hawaiʻi Island, Queen Kalākua Kaheiheimālie (another wife of Kamehameha I) and Governor George Cox Keʻeaumoku II of Maui. Kaʻahumanu was one of the most powerful people in the Islands at the time of the arrival of the missionaries.
She declared determination to “adhere to the instructions of the missionaries, to attend to learning, observe the Sabbath, Worship God, and obey his law, and have all their people instructed.” She was admitted to the church in 1825. She died June 5, 1832.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Punaluʻu
Punaluʻu i ke kai kau haʻa a ka malihini - Punaluʻu, where the sea dances for the visitors. “The country appeared more thickly inhabited, than that over which we had travelled in the morning. The villages along the sea-shore were near together, and some of them extensive.” (1823)
Punaluʻu village was “romantically situated on the beach, shut in in part by a rough lava stream.” Continuing along the shore, was the black-pebble beach of Nīnole and found “a succession of small villages” whose inhabitants were “extensively engaged in fishing.”

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Free Kindergarten and Children’s Aid Association
“When the school introduces and trains each child of society into membership within such a little community, saturating him with the spirit of service, and providing him with the instruments of effective self-direction, we shall have the deepest and best guarantee of a larger society which is worthy, lovely and harmonious.”
The Free Kindergarten and Children’s Aid Association of the Hawaiian Islands was established in 1895. One of Hawaiʻi’s first eleemosynary organizations, it offered the first teacher training program and free kindergarten to all of Hawaiʻi’s children.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Honolulu’s General Store
Three brothers, Heinrich (1822-1893,) Georg (1827-1907) and Gustav (1830-1902) formed branches of Melchers Company, first in Mazatlán, Mexico (1846,) then seven years later in Honolulu (1853.) (Melchers building is still there and today is the oldest commercial building in Honolulu.)
The Honolulu store was officially opened on February 20, 1854; it sold mostly European goods, items found in most dry goods stores of that time, including fabrics, cigars and china goods. It served as Honolulu’s general store.

Monday, June 1, 2015

‘Holy Moses’
In 1886, “a small whaling vessel anchored off the Island of Oʻahu, opposite the city of Honolulu. A wizened little man with knowing, twinkling eyes of jet black, and some sixty odd winters in his long white beard, and a wind-lashed face, disembarked the ship.” He was called 'Rosey.'
“It is by this name alone that the old-timers still remember him, and only after considerable inquiry was the writer able to learn that ‘Rosey’ was a contraction of ‘Rosenberg,’ the true name of this wandering prophet.” He also earned the name ‘Holy Moses;’ he was Jewish, he called himself a rabbi.

About Me

I am a lifetime resident of Hawai`i. I’ve been in the private sector for 30-years, 2-years in County Administration and 4 1/2-years in State Administration. Our firm, Ho`okuleana LLC, is a planning and consulting firm assisting property owners with land use planning efforts, including environmental review, entitlement process, permitting, community outreach, etc.
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About the historical posts … in an effort to provide brief background summaries of various people, places and events in Hawaiʻi, I make informal compilations from a variety of sources. These are not intended to be technical reference documents; rather they are assemblages of information and images from various sources. In many cases, specific citations and attributions are often omitted. The images and text in various posts are from various sources and are presented for personal, non-commercial and/or educational purposes.